My Light In The Dark
by Iabri
Summary: A terrible accident leaves Jack with a lot of things to learn and relearn. Thankfully, he has three friends who are determined to help him through it. (Jackunzel, Mericcup)
1. Mountain Air Part 1

In the future, when she looked back on the incident, Rapunzel would remember a blur that flew by too fast to see—bits and pieces of memories that consisted mostly of the emotions she'd been feeling, but no details.

But at the time it happened, it felt a lot more like the world was stuck in slow motion.

Everything was supposed to be perfect. The four of them had gone to a ski lodge for winter break. It was Jack's idea, obviously. Rapunzel wasn't much of a skier, so after having exactly one obligatory lesson from Jack and deciding she didn't want to risk breaking her neck, she'd been happy to stand out in the snow and watch her friends race each other down the hills.

Jack was completely in his element and having the time of his life snowboarding out in the cold mountain air every day. Merida and Hiccup seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. They were more company in the lodge than Jack, but when he came in at the end of the day with mussed up hair, rosy cheeks, and a bright smile, she didn't mind at all.

The best part of the trip was the third night they were there. It was a little past midnight and Rapunzel was just beginning to drift off to sleep. That's when she received a text from Jack that simply read, _Meet me in the lounge. _

Being careful not to wake Merida, she bundled herself up in the oversized sweatshirt she'd stolen from Jack and padded downstairs in her sock feet. The lodge was quiet except for a few night owls who hadn't gone to bed yet. A fire roared in the enormous fireplace that sat right in the middle of the lounge, and when she glanced out the window, she could see that it had begun to snow again.

"Punzie?"

The voice came from the fireplace. Jack stood from one of the leather chairs, a steaming mug in each hand.

Rapunzel caught her breath when she saw him. She would never forget the way he looked—nothing special, but for some reason the sight struck her. His coffee brown hair was just as messy and tousled as usual and flopped over his forehead in a way that made her want to push her hands through it. He wore a thin, long-sleeved cotton shirt that fit him just so she could see the well-developed muscles in his chest and arms and shoulders. But what struck her most were his eyes. They were comforting and warm, like the hot cocoa he was holding, and gleamed in the firelight. The way he gazed at her with them always made her want to melt.

She folded her arms and feigned a yawn. "What do you want, Jack? I was half asleep when you called me down here."

Jack stopped and looked down at the mugs in his hands. "Well, if you're too tired, I guess I'll just have to drink these all by myself."

Rapunzel smiled and huffed in fake annoyance. "Fine. I suppose I can help you out."

She accepted one of the mugs and followed him to the large chairs that sat before the fire. Stuffed deer and moose heads watched from their mounts high on the stone walls as the pair got settled in the cushy leather seats. Rapunzel folded her legs underneath her so she could rest her drink on her knees. Jack propped his bare feet up on the hearth. The fire was roaring, stretched out over three feet of grate and feeding on an enormous pile of thick logs. For a few moments, there was only the crackling and popping of the blaze and the ambient sounds of low conversation around the lodge.

Rapunzel sighed, feeling cozy and content. She took a tentative sip of the cocoa to find it wasn't scorching hot. It was also filled to the brim with whipped cream, just the way she liked it. For someone who was usually somewhat absentminded, Jack could be surprisingly thoughtful.

"So what did you really want?" she asked.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you." Her free arm was hanging over the side of the chair and he reached out to take it. Almost automatically, their fingers intertwined with each others.' "I know I've been out on the slopes a lot."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "That's okay. You look great out there. I like watching you."

"Thanks," he said, laughing lightly. "I miss you though. Are you having fun?"

"Of course I am! It's breathtaking out here. Have you been down any of the trails yet? Merida and I took a walk in the woods yesterday. They're beautiful with all the snow."

Jack smiled. "You'll have to take me then. I'd love to see them." He paused for a moment, thinking. "How about tomorrow? After lunch?"

Rapunzel beamed. "Okay."

"Promise?"

She rolled her eyes. "_Yes_, Jack. I promise."

"Okay, then. It's a date." His eyes fell to her arm and he moved his hand to touch the fabric. "Is this _my_ sweatshirt?"

Rapunzel felt her cheeks grow warm. "Uh…well…"

"Hey! I was wondering what happened to it."

She hid her face by taking another sip of her drink and laughed sheepishly into the mug. "Sorry. It's just so warm."

Jack laughed loudly. She felt him run his thumb over the back of her hand. "You keep it as long as you want then. Can't have you being cold."

Rapunzel pulled the mug away and grinned. "Thanks."

For a moment, he just stared at her, his chocolate eyes becoming lidded. She stared right back, enjoying the way the firelight danced across his features. Even after three years of knowing the boy, she still had not gotten tired of looking at him. She felt that familiar tugging inside—some inexplicable force that seemed to be drawing her to him, insisting that he should be nearer. The space between them created by the armchairs, which was really no more than a foot, suddenly felt like a yawning chasm that she needed to breach.

Jack laughed again. "Punzie, you got something right here." He motioned at his upper lip.

"Huh?"

"Hold on…" He set his drink down and leaned toward her, taking her face in both his hands, long fingers tangling themselves in her blonde hair. His voice became low and soft. "I got it."

Suddenly his mouth was on her mouth. Rapunzel squeaked in surprise, but then leaned right back into him. Her mind slipped into some sort of haze as they kissed. Sitting there, with only the fire and the snow falling in the dark night outside and his lips all to herself, they might as well have been the only two people in the world. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scents of mint and pine and cold mountain air that emanated from him. She gave into the temptation to run her fingers through his hair. Then, when they finally came up for air, she found herself giggling at the whipped cream smeared across his lip.

"Yeah, I think you got it," she whispered, breathing hard, and swiped it away with her thumb.

He laughed breathlessly and pulled her into his lap. Her arms circled around his neck as he kissed her again. This time it was deeper, but somehow gentler. It didn't feel desperate or hungry. It was just…loving. The simple act of enjoying the feel of each other's lips.

Rapunzel didn't remember falling asleep in his lap, but she must have. The next thing she was aware of was her body rocking back and forth in a strong pair of arms. She didn't open her eyes, but in its half-awake state her brain let her know that she was being carried to her room. She could smell Jack's cologne very well now that her head was resting on his shoulder. It had always been a calming smell to her. Soon she felt herself being laid down on a soft mattress. Blankets were drawn up to her chin and tucked in tenderly around her. And then a kiss was pressed affectionately to her forehead.

The last thing she heard before she fell asleep for good was a husky whisper saying, "Goodnight, Rapunzel. I love you."

When she woke up the next morning, she was dismayed to find it was already ten-thirty. Merida was in the lounge when she went down for breakfast and informed her that Jack and Hiccup had already left for the day.

"Aren't you going out today?" she asked the redhead as they drank coffee by the fire.

"Maybe later," she replied, sinking into the couch cushions. "Don't tell the boys, but my bum's a little sore from taking so many falls."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "And that's only because you keep trying dangerous jumps."

Merida shrugged. "What can I say? I can't let Frosty beat me. Then he'd only get cocky."

"Too late for that."

Merida chuckled. Then she suddenly gave her a sly look. "You were out late last night, weren't you?"

Rapunzel blushed as memories of the night before came rushing back to her. "Uh…well, yeah."

"And what, may I ask, were you doin'?"

"Things."

"Things?"

"Stuff."

"Ah." Merida tilted her head and batted her eyelids in a ridiculously seductive fashion. "Stuff. I see."

"No! It wasn't—I mean, we didn't—shut up!" Rapunzel's face grew even redder and she pushed her friend's shoulder. "We just talked. And drank hot chocolate. That's all."

"Pff," Merida spat, bobby pinning a stray lock of curly hair to the top of her head. "Okay, Punz. Whatever you say."

Rapunzel blew out a frustrated breath, sending up a tuft of blond hair that fell back down in her face. There was no arguing with Merida. So when she suggested they go outside to watch their boyfriends snowboard (or, Merida insisted, to watch Hiccup embarrass himself again), Rapunzel went along happily. She was eager for the afternoon to come so she and Jack could take that walk.

The air was colder than the day before. When they stepped outside and into the white world of the mountains, she pulled her coat tighter around her body and wished she'd remembered her hat.

The two girls spent the next half hour standing at the base of the steep slope the boys were racing each other down before they decided it was too cold to just stand around and watch. Jack looked fantastic, as usual, and Rapunzel was enthralled by his skills and agility and athletic figure, but there came a point when she couldn't feel her lips anymore. Her body begged for warmth. She suggested heading to the sauna for a little while, and Merida readily complied. It was a bit pricey, but it was one of the lodge's main features, so it had to be worth it.

"I don't know how they can stay out for so long in this cold," she mentioned as they walked back through the lodge's back door, stomping snow off of their boots.

"Frosty probably doesn't even notice it," Merida replied.

Rapunzel thought she was most likely right.

The sauna was wonderful and very lavish. It didn't take long for feeling to creep back into her extremities and drive out the cold. While Merida typically didn't participate in self-indulgent activities as much as Rapunzel, she obviously enjoyed it too. They left feeling warm and renewed.

Rapunzel just hoped she wouldn't be too cold to enjoy her walk with Jack later.

It was after they had changed into leggings and sweaters and went back to the lounge that the chaos erupted.

She had just gotten situated on an overly stuffed couch and opened a book when a young man she'd never seen before came barreling through the door, automatically capturing everyone's attention.

His eyes were wild and his chest was heaving with frantic breaths. "H-Hey! Call 9-1-1!" he shouted in a booming voice. "Somebody call 9-1-1! _Hurry_!"

Rapunzel instinctively closed her book. Merida sat bolt upright, making to stand.

A few people gathered around the man and started pulling out cell phones. The person closest to him shoved theirs into his hand and he pressed it to his ear, still trying to catch his breath.

"What happened?" a middle-aged woman asked earnestly.

"A kid wiped out on the slopes," he gasped hastily while the phone rang. "Busted his head open. It's bad. The patrollers are with him now but he needs an ambulance and their phones aren't working."

Rapunzel wasn't sure why, but her stomach did a somersault.

The man turned away to talk to the dispatcher, speaking in a low tone so she couldn't hear what he said. She rushed to the window with Merida by her side, but couldn't see anything from that vantage point.

Rapunzel gave her friend a worried look. "You don't think it's…?"

"No." Merida shook her head, sounding very sure of herself. "It can't be. Jack's too good and Hiccup's too careful. It's not them."

The blonde nodded. It seemed like solid logic. There were dozens of people out on the slopes besides her friends. It could be any one of them.

But as she comforted herself with these words, she saw something that made her stomach feel sick. A figure was running down from the mountain at breakneck speed. A very familiar figure. "Hiccup?"

"Hm?" Merida leaned toward the window to see better. Then her ocean-blue eyes widened. "Uh oh…he looks upset."

Rapunzel's heart jumped and started pounding against her chest. She turned away from the window, trying not to lose her composure. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no…"

"Punzie! Punzie, it's okay." Merida placed her hands on her shoulders. "That doesn't mean anythin'. Let's just wait for him to get here before we start jumping to conclusions, all right?"

She swallowed thickly and tried to nod, but it was a lame attempt. She knew Merida was right, but the panicky feeling that was making her limbs shake didn't lessen at all.

Something was wrong. Somehow, she _knew_ it.

It took another minute or two for Hiccup to reach the lodge and come bursting into the room, bringing a flurry of snow with him. He looked completely frantic and disoriented as he turned in an unsteady circle, searching the room with wide, fear-crazed eyes.

Merida jumped up and ran to him. "Hiccup! What…what happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," the boy panted, doubling over to put his hands on his knees. "But…but…" He drew in several huge, ragged gasps and tried to continue, but didn't have enough breath to talk.

"Calm down, Hic," Merida murmured, rubbing her boyfriend's back. "Breathe."

Rapunzel was trembling uncontrollably. "We—we heard someone fell on the slopes. Do you know what happened?"

Hiccup looked up at them, his breathing just beginning to slow. The shock and the terror in his eyes gave away the answer before he spoke.

"It's Jack."


	2. Mountain Air Part 2

**I feel like I need to point out the fact that I have almost no knowledge of snowboarding lingo or mountain terminology or medical things, and I'm not in a position to do a whole lot of research on them, so I am very sorry about that. I did my best. And I also feel like it's a bit rushed at the end, but after going over it again and again, I couldn't figure out how to fix it without making it extremely long. So I hope it's acceptable as is.**

***Also, a warning, this chapter is…a little on the gory side. I'm personally not bothered by gore at all, so it's hard for me to gauge just how strong of a warning I should put on this…but know that there is blood. A pretty good amount of it.**

* * *

Hiccup wanted to throw up, but he forced himself to stay calm for the girls' sake as much as his. The image of his best friend lying in the snow was burned into his eyes and he knew it would be for a long time.

It all happened so fast. Jack had insisted on trying the steep, dangerous course surrounded by rock. Hiccup told him it wasn't a good idea, but of course he didn't listen. And so he'd stood with his snowboard at the bottom of the hill and watched uneasily as Jack set off.

At first he'd done well. It was a good thing he was so agile or else he might not have been able to manage the steepness of the slope near as easily. Hiccup was beginning to think he'd been wrong. Jack really did have the skill to traverse the course.

He looked on with a little more ease as Jack launched smoothly off of a ledge and into a backflip like he'd done a thousand times before that day alone. But then something went wrong.

Hiccup didn't know exactly what happened. He was too far away to see much more than Jack's general figure, but something about his form wasn't right. Hiccup knew his balance was off even before he landed and his gut twisted in a flash of panic. The slope was too steep, and Jack wasn't prepared to land properly…

"Jack—!" he began to shout. Too late, he realized there was nothing he could do.

It happened in a flash. The second Jack made contact with the ground, his board was yanked out from under him and he was thrown headfirst into the snow. Even with the distance between them, Hiccup could see the way his skull slammed into the ground. His body went limp and continued to slide down the hill a short ways until he came to a stop.

Hiccup couldn't breathe. _Get up. Come on, Jack, get up. Get UP!_

But Jack didn't move.

Time stopped. The world around Hiccup seemed to fade away. All he knew was the crunching of his feet pounding on the snow and his ragged, wheezy breathing through the tightness of his throat and the blood rushing in his ears.

He remembered running so fast that his legs couldn't keep up with his body, and he tripped. He didn't remember getting back up, but he must have because suddenly he was running again, and all he could see was his best friend's body lying motionless in a white abyss. All he knew was that he had to get to him.

"JACK!" His voice reached him from somewhere far outside of his own head. As he came upon the form lying in the snow, he felt his fear spike to a whole new level.

Blood. There was blood everywhere.

Blood staining the pure white snow around Jack's head. Blood in his hair. Blood covering his face. Blood splattered across his coat. Blood smeared in a trail from where he'd fallen. Blood leaking out from his broken body, forming a gleaming crimson puddle around him like a scene right out of a horror movie.

Hiccup felt sick. He had never seen so much blood coming out of one person. As he dropped to his knees, he felt his body start trembling. His head was light and dizzy. His breath came in short gasps. Vaguely, he wondered if this was what panic felt like. Surely this level of fear wasn't common.

"Jack…?" He could barely force the word out, could barely reach out a trembling hand to shake Jack's shoulder gingerly, but somehow he did. When nothing happened, he turned him onto his back.

His eyes widened and his mouth fell open at the horrific sight that greeted him. A small noise escaped him before his stomach jumped into his throat and he had to turn away to stop himself from getting sick.

The gash in Jack's forehead was huge. Hiccup couldn't even see just _how_ huge because of all the blood that was concealing most of his face, but it had to reach from his eyebrow to well past his hairline. It was obvious that his friend's face had taken a heck of a beating. His goggles were badly cracked and his nose, obviously broken, was gushing blood. He was bleeding from several other lacerations as well, but _nothing_ compared to his head—

_God, his head._

It took Hiccup far too long to gain control over his horror-stricken mind, to push aside his fear and shock and panic, and check for a pulse. Shakily, he pulled off his gloves and pressed two fingers to his friend's neck, staining his hands with crimson. He could make out a heartbeat. It was dull and suppressed, but it was there. Then he noticed Jack's chest was rising and falling slowly and erratically, as if he was having trouble breathing.

He was alive.

He was alive, but if Hiccup didn't do something soon, he might not be for much longer. But he felt frozen, like his limbs had decided to lock up.

_What's wrong with you?! _his brain screamed at him. _Move! MOVE!_

Feeling woozy, Hiccup finally rose to his feet and tried to make himself stop shaking. No luck. He stumbled off in the direction he remembered the ski patrol's cabin to be, begging his weak legs to cooperate.

By the time he reached it, he was all but hysterical. Everything was a blur. He remembered gasping to the medics that his friend had fallen, that he was hurt bad, there was so much blood, someone, please, _help him_—

And then a woman had made him sit down and take deep breaths. They'd tried to get him to drink water, but he vaguely remembered not being able to swallow past the tightness in his throat. They asked him questions about Jack, some of which he was able to answer and some he didn't know.

He thought he remembered insisting that they let him go back to be with Jack. He didn't like the thought of strangers surrounding him and not being there to see what they were doing. Someone finally agreed to accompany him back.

When he returned to the slope, there was a small crowd gathered around. Much of it was the ski patrol, but a fair number of spectators had stopped as well. Hiccup elbowed his way through, desperate to get to his friend. They were strapping Jack to some kind of special sled when he made it to the center. A medic was kneeling next to him, trying to get the bleeding to stop, while several others were checking him over for more injuries.

"I can't tell the extent of the damage," one of them was saying. "But he needs stitches. A lot of stitches. Maybe surgery. He's losing a lot of blood."

"He must have landed on those rocks up there at the base of the ledge. No way a head injury could be this bad from landing on just the snow."

"I've been saying we need to do something about that before someone got hurt. You can't see them from here because of the snow, and you don't know they're there until you've already jumped," another patroller added.

_Well, that explains why he freaked out when he landed, _Hiccup thought foggily.

He couldn't pull his eyes from Jack. Some of the blood had been cleaned off his face, so he could see the ghastly white pallor of his skin and the darkness gathering around his eyes. His entire face was horribly torn up.

"W-what are you going to do with him?" Hiccup asked hoarsely, venturing closer to the team of medics.

"We just sent someone down to call an ambulance," a woman answered matter-of-factly. "He needs to get to a hospital as soon as possible. There might be brain damage."

_Hospital. Stitches. Brain damage. Surgery. Blood loss. _The words echoed inside Hiccup's head. This couldn't be happening. It _shouldn't _be happening. They were on _vacation_ for crying out loud. He couldn't believe it had taken less than a second for it to turn into a nightmare.

"We need you to go with him in the ambulance," a patroller told him. "They'll need your help to contact his family and get his information."

Hiccup nodded dumbly. Of course, he'd stay by Jack's side the entire time. That wasn't even a question. But then he suddenly remembered that Merida and Rapunzel still didn't know.

He turned in the direction of the lodge. "I'll be right back. We…have some more friends at the lodge. I need to tell them."

The woman gave him a nod. "We can arrange for them to be taken to the hospital as well if you'd like."

"Thank you," he muttered, and immediately took off. He ran at a full sprint all the way back. Somewhere along the way, he remembered to pull his gloves back on to hide Jack's blood that still covered his hands.

* * *

Now he was standing in the lounge in front of two very distraught girls.

Rapunzel was sobbing. Merida had her arms around the girl, trying to provide some comfort, but she looked petrified with shock herself.

"How bad is it?" she asked, her voice quavering with an emotion Hiccup had never seen from her before.

He shook his head. How could he tell them? How could he tell Rapunzel? "It's…" He looked at the weeping girl Merida held in her arms pointedly, sending a silent message. "It's, um…not good."

He saw Merida nod slightly. She understood what he was implying. "Punzie?" she said softly, guiding her over to the couch. "Punzie, why don't you sit down? We'll go get you something to drink."

She only sunk onto the couch and buried her face in her hands to cry harder. Hiccup doubted she even heard what Merida said.

He felt his girlfriend grab his hand and yank him roughly toward the cafeteria. Once they were out of Rapunzel's earshot, she turned on him with an urgency that startled him. Her eyes were clouded with worry. "Be honest with me, Hic. How bad is it?"

Hiccup sighed, tugging off his gloves. "It's bad, Merida. Really bad. They think that he bashed his head on some rocks when he fell and…Mer, there was so much blood." He held out his hands, showing her his red fingers. "They were saying he might have…might have brain damage."

The redhead covered her mouth with her hands and her face crumpled as if she was holding back tears. "How could this happen?" she whispered.

Hiccup shook his head. "I tried to tell him not to take that trail."

Merida turned and slammed her fist into the wall. "That _idiot_!" She let her head fall against the wall as well. "What're we gonna do now?"

"They're taking him to the hospital. They asked me to go with him in the ambulance and they're going to take you and Punz in a car I think."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? For Punzie, I mean?"

"No. But do you really think she'd be okay with staying here?"

She sighed. "I guess not." Then she walked to the water cooler and poured a cup for Rapunzel. "This is not going to be pretty, you know tha'?"

Hiccup's chest ached. "I know."

He walked with her back to the lounge, hastily putting on the gloves again. Rapunzel was still sitting on the couch. She had stopped sobbing and was wiping furiously at her eyes with her palms, trying desperately to stop the last of the tears.

When she saw Merida and Hiccup approaching, she stood. "Where's Jack?"

Merida pressed the cup of water into her hand. "He's outside, but—"

"Take me to him," she demanded, looking straight into Hiccup's eyes.

"Rapunzel, I don't think—"

"Hiccup, _please_," she begged, stepping closer to him. Her bottom lip quivered. "I—I need to go with him in the ambulance. I have to be there with him. He _needs_ me—"

Hiccup grasped her narrow shoulders firmly. "No, Rapunzel. You need to stay with Merida. I don't want you to see him like—like he is now. Trust me, it's better for you to wait. I'll be right there with him the whole time, don't worry."

Tears welled up in her bright green eyes again. "But—"

"He's right, Punz," Merida interjected, much to Hiccup's relief. He hated telling her this and knowing he was responsible for the heartbroken expression she was currently wearing. "It's better if he goes. He'll look after Jack for ya. Won't you, Hic?"

"Of course," Hiccup said as enthusiastically as he could. "Don't worry, Rapunzel. He's going to be all right. Everything is going to be fine."

Later, he would look back and realize he'd never told a bigger lie.

* * *

After making sure Rapunzel had calmed down somewhat, Hiccup raced outside to the group of people surrounding Jack. It seemed bigger than when he'd left. He pushed his way into it, muttering halfhearted apologies as he tried to reach his friend.

The majority of patrollers were kneeling in a circle around him, while some stood and watched. Their body language was urgent. Even before he could actually see Jack, Hiccup knew something else had happened. He felt like his heart came to a standstill in his chest for the thousandth time that hour. But instead of freezing up, this time he was actually able to move. He must've run around the circle of people three times trying to get a glimpse of Jack before he heard something that made his blood run cold.

Weak, strained moans were coming from the center of medics. And they were definitely Jack's.

Alarm flooded through Hiccup. "Hey!" he said loudly, desperate to get someone's attention. He came up behind one of the medics and put his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Back up, kid," was the growling response he received.

Hiccup glowered. "That's my—"

"It's okay," said the woman he'd been talking to earlier. "He's the boy's friend." She approached Hiccup. "He's starting to wake up."

"Is that bad?" he asked, anxiety causing his clenched fists to tremble.

"Not exactly. It's a good sign. If he'd stayed unconscious for much longer, it would've indicated much more severe head trauma. But now that he's regaining consciousness, he'll be in a lot of pain."

Hiccup's brow furrowed. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Not at the moment. We just have to pray the ambulance gets here soon."

He bit his lip. Just how far away was the hospital? He felt like they'd already been waiting _ages_. In reality, though, it had probably been closer to fifteen minutes. _That's still too long_, Hiccup thought bitterly. Who knew what further harm could come to Jack in the extra time it took for the stupid ambulance to arrive?

Hiccup swallowed as he felt his chest tighten again. _Jack, please be okay_.

* * *

He didn't remember much about the time the ambulance finally got there. He only recalled the wail of sirens, a flurry of activity as the paramedics fastened a once again unconscious Jack to a stretcher and lifted it inside the doors, and the hands pushing him into the vehicle. And questions. So, so many questions.

_What is his name?_

Jackson Overland.

_Age?_

Eighteen.

_What is your relationship to him?_

He's my best friend.

_Tell me what you remember about Jackson's accident._

Nothing…nothing…just that he fell. It was hard to see…

_Do you know of any medical conditions he had prior to this?_

No…

An eternal string of cold, unfeeling questions followed by dazed, mumbled replies and Hiccup wanted it to stop_._ He wanted everything to just _stop_.

After that…things were fuzzy. Maybe the magnitude of what had happened finally caught up with him when he saw plethora of bandages being wrapped around Jack's head, or the oxygen mask being strapped to his face to help deliver the air his lungs were struggling to utilize. Or the sickeningly gray, ashen shade of his skin. It could've been anything. Hiccup barely remembered the whirlwind of a ride to the hospital through the haze his mind slipped into.

The only coherent thought he had was how glad he was that he hadn't let Rapunzel see this.

Not long after, he was watching the paramedics take his friend away down a white hall until they turned a corner and disappear. With a heavy, exhausted sigh, he shed his coat and gloves and went to the bathroom to wash the blood from his hands.

Then he collapsed into a plastic chair in the waiting room, letting his head sink into his hands, wishing everything would just go away. Hoping that, somehow, this would all turn out to be just a bad dream and he would wake up in his room at the lodge and Jack would be fast asleep, safe and sound.

But when he opened his eyes, all that met them was the white linoleum floor of the hospital.

White. Just like the snow. The snow that he'd seen being tainted by crimson liquid, leaking out in tendrils and pooling under Jack's injured head.

He covered his face again to block it all out, but the image stayed. Something told him it would stay for a while, just waiting for him to shut his eyes or let his mind wander so it could come back full force to haunt him.

Time passed. Hiccup wasn't sure how much, but it felt like a lot. The next time he lifted his head from his hands, it was because someone was touching his shoulder and saying, "Hiccup? Hiccup…?"

He raised his eyes to see a mane of curly, copper-colored hair framing a round face with wide blue eyes and pink cheeks. The sight of her immediately relieved some of the tension in his shoulders. "Hey, Mer."

"You all right?"

"Yeah."

She sat down beside him, her knees bumping against his. "Do you know anythin' yet?"

Hiccup shook his head. "They haven't told me a thing." He paused and glanced around the waiting room. "Where's Rapunzel?"

"In the bathroom."

"How is she?"

Merida sighed, pushing back a tuft of hair that had fallen in her face. "I'd say she's okay, but that might be stretching it. She's holding up, I guess."

Again, Hiccup was thankful that the blonde hadn't been the one to witness Jack's accident. He leaned back in the chair. "And how are you?"

"Worried," she responded with a sad smile. "Like the rest of us."

He nodded, his eyes falling to the white floor again. He instantly tried to focus on something else. His gaze landed on the wall, but that was as white as the floor. The ceiling—white. The door on the other side of the room—white. Why was everything in this place so white?

"Oh. Here," Merida said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I brought you some clothes. Figured you might want to get outta those wet ones." She held out a stack of his clothes—a pair of jeans with a long-sleeved T-shirt folded neatly, and a pair of his sneakers on top.

He took them gratefully and tried his best to smile. "Thanks, Mer."

She returned the gesture. "You're welcome."

At that moment, Rapunzel walked into the waiting room. Her long blonde hair swished across her back and she fingered a lock of it like she always did when something was troubling her. Her eyes were still red and puffy, but the tears seemed to have dried. She was wearing a sweatshirt that was far too big for her petite frame. Hiccup's chest tightened when he realized it was Jack's.

"Hey, Punzie," Merida called with an uncharacteristic softness. She patted the seat of the chair beside her. "Come sit down."

The girl complied without a word and pulled her legs up to her chest, sniffing softly. An uncomfortable silence settled in the room.

Hiccup cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going to change."

* * *

The three of them ended up sitting in that waiting room for hours. They were informed that Jack was undergoing surgery, but that was all. Hiccup had never felt so uneasy in his entire life.

They hardly spoke. What was there to say? The anxiousness hanging in the air was almost tangible, and it seemed to steal any lighthearted thought they might have had.

Rapunzel had brought a book with her and appeared to be reading, but sometimes Hiccup would look over and find her staring blankly at the pages, tears glistening in her eyes.

Merida was using his shoulder as a pillow and had fallen asleep at some point. Not that Hiccup was surprised. She could probably sleep anywhere, and at anytime. He wished he could sleep. It would be a nice way to pass the time and an even better way to forget why he was there in the first place. Most importantly, it would mean he didn't have to keep staring at all this _white_.

Jack's accident played over and over in his mind, each time making him feel a little more nauseous. Even though he'd been too far away at the time, he could hear the smack of Jack's skull on the ground in his head and it wound his gut tighter and tighter.

Once, after about an hour and a half, he suggested going back to the lodge, but Rapunzel adamantly refused.

"I'm staying here until they tell me how Jack is," she said.

And that settled it. Hiccup and Merida weren't about to leave her by herself, and they were just as eager to know about their friend's condition as she was.

It was another hour or so before a doctor came. He was a tall, middle-aged man with dark hair and a kind face. He greeted them with an air of sympathy. "You're all here for Jackson Overland?"

Rapunzel stood and rushed forward earnestly. Merida and Hiccup were close on her heels. "Yes?"

The doctor looked down at the clipboard he held in his hand. "Well, the good news is that the surgery is over. The lacerations he received are stitched up and should heal fine. He also has a sprained wrist, probably from trying to break his fall, but nothing to worry about."

When he paused, Hiccup felt his heart start pounding against his ribcage. There was bad news coming, he could tell. He subconsciously wrapped an arm around Merida's shoulders. "And?"

The man cleared his throat. "There's a hairline fracture on his skull. Nothing too severe. It should heal fine as well. But…"

"But _what_?" Merida snapped impatiently. Hiccup felt her shoulders tense up under his arm.

He was silent for a few more slow, agonizing seconds, staring at his clipboard. The solemn expression that came over his face made Hiccup's gut twist with anxiety. Something was very wrong.

"As you probably know, Jackson sustained a pretty serious head injury," he said at last, dragging the sentence out slowly. "We've already contacted his parents. They're on the way here."

"O_kay_," Rapunzel spat, her voice rising in volume. The emotion in her voice startled Hiccup. Even from where he was standing, he could see her trembling. "And what else? _What's wrong with Jack_?"

The doctor sighed. His reluctance to answer Rapunzel's question made Hiccup start to feel sick all over again.

After taking a deep breath, he finally continued, "There was…extensive damage to his optic nerve. The surgery confirmed it to be irreparable. As a result…Jackson's eyesight is gone. And it's highly unlikely that it will ever return."


	3. Mountain Air Part 3

For a moment, it was as if the world had come to an abrupt halt. The waiting room was engulfed by the worst kind of silence—the kind where nothing moved, and nobody breathed. The kind of silence found in a cemetery. Three pairs of wide eyes stared in disbelief at the man standing before them. Merida found she couldn't even blink.

Hiccup was the first to speak, but his voice was no more than a husky whisper. "Jack is…blind?"

The words hit Merida like a punch to the gut. That sentence was extremely, utterly, completely _wrong_. The only time it should've ever been spoken was when Merida teased Jack about his hair or his fashion sense. It was _never_ supposed to be literal. There had to be some mistake…

But when the doctor let his clipboard fall to his side and gave his head a subtle shake, she knew that there was no mistake. "I'm truly sorry to have to tell you this."

Somehow, the words just weren't sinking in. A part of Merida held tightly to the hope that the doctor was wrong, that Jack would wake up and be just as he was before—vision and all. She couldn't accept that he would have to live with a disability as great as this. He was only eighteen!

As an afterthought, Merida glanced over at Rapunzel in concern. The girl was shaking again, her breath hitching with every inhalation. One small hand covered her mouth.

"Punzie…" Merida muttered, making her way over to her friend. She wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"Oh my god," Rapunzel breathed in disbelief, leaning weakly against her. Then she went silent, wide green eyes staring aimlessly at the floor.

Merida wasn't sure what she expected from the girl. Part of her expected tears while another part was waiting for her to fall into hysterics and adamantly deny the whole thing. When neither happened, she prodded her in concern. "Punz?"

Rapunzel's hand fell away from her mouth. "Is he okay?" she murmured.

Merida's brow furrowed. "What?"

The blonde stood up a little straighter and took a shy step toward the doctor. "Besides being…besides what you said, is Jack okay? Nothing else is wrong with him, right?" Her voice was soft and frail, but Merida couldn't help but marvel at the bravery she heard in it.

"We won't know for sure until he wakes up," the doctor replied. "He'll most likely have some memory loss. We can't tell how much, but it's common after a head injury. Aside from the usual symptoms, though, it looks like there won't be any other problems."

Rapunzel took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. Merida could see her hands trembling as they clutched at the sleeves of Jack's sweatshirt. "When can I see him?"

The man shook his head. "Not for a while, I'm afraid. We're waiting for him to wake up so we can better monitor his condition. And even after that, it might be a while until he's fit for visitors."

The tears Merida had been waiting on finally pooled in her eyes. "Why can't I see him now? While he's sleeping?" she asked, her voice taking on a pitiful begging tone. "Please, just for a minute. I just want to see him for a minute."

The doctor ran a hand through his hair with an exasperated sigh. After seemingly mulling it over for a few seconds, he turned to Hiccup and motioned to the far hallway with his clipboard. "Can I talk to you for a minute, please?"

A look of confusion passed over Hiccup's features before he glanced at Merida. She gave him a brief nod. She watched as he followed the doctor into the hall, where they disappeared around a corner. Curiosity burned strongly in her breast, but she quickly stifled the urge to follow them for the purpose of eavesdropping and turned her attention to Rapunzel instead. She looked like she wanted to follow them as well and was rapidly blinking away tears.

Merida wetted her lips. "Why don't we sit down?" she suggested lamely and proceeded to sink into a chair. Her ears itched to hear what was being said just down the hall, but all she could make out were muffled, incoherent murmurs.

Rapunzel dropped into the seat beside her with a frustrated sigh. "I'm not a baby, you know," she muttered under her breath.

"Huh?"

"I'm not some baby that needs to be protected." Rapunzel was glaring at her clasped hands.

Merida shifted in her chair. "Punzie—"

"Don't '_Punzie'_ me!" she snapped. "You and Hiccup have been coddling me ever since this thing started, and I'm sick of it. You don't need to protect me like some little kid! I'm not fragile—I'm not going to break."

Merida actually had to sit back in surprise. It wasn't often that Rapunzel showed anger. And when she did, it always frightened Merida for some reason. Seeing violent displays of anger from someone as sweet and caring as Rapunzel was actually quite terrifying.

She tried to calm her friend. "You know that's not what—"

"Yes, it is! Hiccup won't talk about the accident in front of me and you guys wouldn't let me go with Jack in the ambulance. And now they're talking privately about whether or not I can handle seeing him." She flopped back in the chair with a huff and crossed her arms. "I know that's what they're doing. I wish you all would just stop. I just—" Her voice suddenly hitched with a broken sob. "I just want to see Jack. Th-that's all I want." A fresh wave of tears leaked from Rapunzel's eyes and she dropped her face into her hands to cry.

With a sigh, Merida reached out a hesitant hand and laid it on the girl's back. "Shh…"

"I'm not an—an idiot," Rapunzel sobbed. "I know he looks bad. I know that, but…but I want to see him. He needs me, Merida! What if…what if he wakes up and I'm not there? H-he won't know where he is, and he'll be surrounded by all those horrible d-doctors and—" Suddenly she began to sob harder, her chest racked with hiccups. "And…and he can't even s-s-see!"

Merida pulled her into her arms once again and held her while she cried. Her heart ached for the girl. She didn't even want to think about how she would feel if their positions were reversed. The situation was hard enough on her as it was. The thought that Hiccup could've been the one in that hospital bed instead… Merida shuddered.

But if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that Rapunzel had lied. There was no doubt that the girl was strong. Merida had witnessed it countless times—the way she stood up for what she believed in, the way she could calm people down when they were upset (namely Jack—she was the only one who could coax him out of his shell when he clammed up, and Merida could vouch for the fact that it was not an easy feat), the way she could keep her head and act as the voice of reason when the rest of them were arguing up a storm—and that was just the beginning. She possessed wonderful qualities that Merida could only marvel at and wonder how in the world he managed to do whatever amazing thing she did. Yes, in many ways, Rapunzel was strong.

But she was also fragile. She'd always been the baby of the group, if one could call it that. Aside from the fact that she was the youngest of the four, Merida supposed it was her sweet, innocent nature that made her so. The other three had always felt this unspoken need to protect her. Whether Rapunzel agreed or not, they were scared she would break. She was the type of person that you never wanted to see upset, so naturally they wanted to shield her from situations that could hurt her.

This was the first time she'd ever outwardly resented that protection. She said she wasn't fragile, that she wasn't going to break, but Merida knew that was a lie. Just listening to the way she blubbered and bawled in her lap made it obvious that she'd already broken. It had always been hard for her to see others in pain. Her tender, empathetic heart had a difficult time handling it. And now that the person she cared for the most was the one in pain… Merida couldn't imagine how much she must be hurting right now. She herself had never been the most compassionate person, and while she felt for her friend, she couldn't exactly sympathize.

She tried to think of something to say to console Rapunzel, but she didn't think that giving her empty promises like "everything will be okay" would help much right now. She never had been good with this kind of thing. So she continued to rub circles into the blonde's back and fight back tears of her own. Her head was still reeling from all that had happened in the past few hours.

Hiccup reentered the waiting room a few minutes later. Merida raised her eyebrows inquisitively, but he only shook his head, a defeated expression on his face. She felt her own face fall.

Rapunzel pushed away from Merida when she heard his feet shuffling on the floor and looked up at him with tearful eyes. "Well?"

He plunked down rather ungracefully into a chair. "They're not letting any of us see him, Rapunzel. Apparently they've got more tests to do…" He waved a hand around in the air. "Or something like that. I couldn't really keep up with all the terminology, but that's what I gathered. Point is, they won't let us in."

Rapunzel's chest shuddered and another round of violent sobs burst from her.

Hiccup looked alarmed. "Did I say something wrong?"

Merida just shook her head and gave him an "I'll tell you later" look. Then she turned to Rapunzel again. "Hey, Punz, why don't we head back to the lodge? Now that there's nothing else we can do here, I think we should go get something to eat. And maybe some sleep."

She was prepared for resistance on the matter. From the way Rapunzel had been carrying on, Merida thought for sure she wouldn't let herself be dragged from the hospital without seeing Jack first. So she was considerably shocked for a third time that day when Rapunzel said, "Okay," and compliantly let them lead her to the car waiting in the parking lot.

* * *

A heavy cloud followed all of them around for the rest of the day. They ordered dinner from the lodge's café that evening and ate in silence. No one smiled. No one even so much as tried to lighten the mood. What was the point, really?

It was all wrong. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Merida couldn't remember the last time they'd been together and not laughed. She was supposed to be bickering with Jack and rolling her eyes at his lame jokes. She was supposed to be listening to him and Hiccup go back and forth in some kind of sass war. She was supposed to be watching him offer Rapunzel the pickles off his sandwich since she liked them. But there was none of that.

The empty chair at their four-person table sat like a constant reminder of Jack's absence and seemed to mock their misery. Merida tried not to look at it.

"We were supposed to go for a walk."

The whisper was so low that Merida almost didn't catch it. She glanced at Rapunzel. "Huh?"

"He wanted to see the woods," she uttered. "I told him how pretty they were and he wanted to see them. I…I promised him we'd go together." Her eyes watered again and her lower lip trembled. "He'll never get to see them now."

The words felt like a stab to Merida's chest. A physical ache grew in her stomach. Hiccup lowered his sandwich as if he'd suddenly lost his appetite. He looked at Merida across the table and she could've sworn there were tears in his eyes.

"He'll be so scared," Rapunzel continued, toying with a lock of hair. "Waking up in a strange place and…and not being able to see anything. I should…I should be there for him."

"He'll be fine, Punz," Hiccup offered, evidently trying his best to sound upbeat. "Jack's brave. I'm sure he'll be just fine."

"And besides," Merida added. "You will be there for him. Maybe not right away, but as soon as they let us in you can be there beside him, like you want."

Rapunzel stared into her untouched bowl of soup. "I guess you're right." Then she pushed her dinner away and stood abruptly. "I'm going to bed."

Merida and Hiccup watched her walk away, hugging herself as if she was cold. Once she was gone, Hiccup sighed loudly and slumped over the table.

"What're we gonna do now?" he deadpanned.

Merida propped her head on her fist. "How should I know? You're always the one with the plan."

"Yeah, well, for once, I got nothing."

She poked at her salad lazily with her fork. "What did the doctor say?"

"Not much, really. He just doesn't think it's a good idea for anyone to see Jack for a while since apparently he looks god-awful. And he's not doing so hot right now."

Merida nodded. She had gathered that much. "I think Rapunzel's angry with us."

"Why?"

"Because she wants to see Jack and she feels like we're keepin' her from him."

Hiccup let out a breath and pushed himself back. "I was afraid of that. But I really think it's for her own good. I wouldn't want to see her if she saw Jack like he is now."

"I know. I think she's just scared. For him."

"I wouldn't expect anything else." He was quiet for a moment, tracing the grains in the wooden tabletop with his finger. "You know we're supposed to head back to Burgess in two days."

Merida nodded. She'd thought about that before. Winter break ended that weekend, and they'd been planning to return to town the Saturday before to get settled before school began again. The thought of school made her feel sick now. "I don't know how we can," she admitted.

"They'll have to transfer Jack to the hospital up there. That should make it easier for everyone."

"Yeah." She fiddled with the corner of a napkin, wondering whether or not she should say what was on her mind. But before she could think too much about it, she blurted, "What do you think it'll be like now that Jack's…uh…you know…?"

"What do you mean?"

Merida ripped off a piece of the napkin. "I mean, do you think he'll go back to livin' in your apartment or decide to live at home, or…?"

Hiccup gave her a sad smile. "It's a little early to be thinking about that, wouldn't you say?"

"I was just wondering."

He shook his head. "I…really have no idea. I think we should just worry about what we're going to do now, for the moment."

Merida knew that thinking about the future was just as painful for him as it was for her. Probably more so. He and Jack had shared an apartment for the first semester of college and she knew that spending a second semester alone would be tough for him. How any of them would be able to cope after this was a real mystery, Merida thought.

Come to think of it, how they would manage to get through the next few days was a mystery as well. It's not like any of them would be able to enjoy the lodge's activities after this, but sitting around the hospital waiting for Jack to wake up wasn't a good option either.

"I still can't believe this happened," she muttered, letting her head sink onto her arms.

Hiccup rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Yeah."

It was then that Merida noticed how exhausted he looked. His eyes seemed vacant and haunted and were ringed with dark circles. It hadn't dawned on her before now that this whole thing must have really been taking a toll on him. After all, he was the only one that witnessed Jack's accident. She felt awful for not having realized it before. Slowly, she reached out and rested a hand on his arm. "Hey…you all righ'?"

He let out a slow breath and flashed her a tired grin. "Yeah."

"Why don't you go to bed, Hic?"

"Mer, it's like nine o' clock."

She frowned. "I think you need the extra sleep."

He gave a halfhearted laugh. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." They stood together and began to clear away their dishes.

After they threw away their trash, Merida felt Hiccup's arm snake around her waist and pull her close to him. "Are you going to bed too?"

"Mm, probably," she answered, placing her hands on his chest.

"I think you should."

She nodded sarcastically and patted his shoulder. "Thanks for your input, Hic."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you."

"You sure that's the reason?"

"Well, that and it's not fair if I have to go to sleep and you get to stay up."

Merida whacked him lightly in the ribs. "That's what I thought, ya big baby." Then she sobered and peered up into his face with concern. "Are you gonna be all right by yourself?"

He smirked. "'Course I will."

She leaned in a little closer to him. "I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine, Mer. I'm so tired I'll probably pass out as soon as I get to bed anyway."

"If you're sure." She reached up and fiddled with the little braid at the back of his head. "I'll see you in the mornin' then?"

"I'll meet you in the lounge." He threaded his fingers into her mane of curls. "Take care of Rapunzel, okay?"

"'Course," she muttered.

Hiccup leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. Merida marveled at how good he was at lifting her spirits, even when his own were at rock bottom. She wished they didn't have to part, but she could already feel sleep tugging at her eyelids despite the earliness of the night. The day must have taken more out of her than she thought.

She felt his lips leave hers and her eyes fluttered open.

"Sleep well," he muttered, and planted one last kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too," Merida returned.

They went their separate ways at the stairs. She felt a pang in her heart as she saw him turn the corner and disappear.

* * *

**I'm sorry that there's not much to this chapter, but it was necessary in preparation for the next one. I'm thinking there will probably be one or two more parts to this arc, but we'll see.**

**Thank you all for the wonderful feedback! I really appreciate it and it's my main motivation to keep writing!**


	4. Mountain Air Part 4

**Ahhh it makes me so excited that this AU is being so well received (: Thank you all so much! I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry it took me a little longer to get up. I've been busy with holiday stuff and all that. And this is a pretty long chapter for me. Thanks for your patience! **

* * *

Hiccup rolled his pencil back and forth on his desk. The professor's voice droned on and on, but it was just a dull roar in his head. No matter how hard he'd been trying, he couldn't seem to focus on lectures these days. His thoughts were far away from the classroom.

It'd worked out so that they were able to return from the lodge on schedule. Jack's parents arrived in hysterics the day following the accident. They met Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel at the hospital and were told the whole story. Hiccup hated to be the one to relay it to them, and though he understandably gave them an extremely edited version of the incident, they were still considerably horrified and completely distraught over the state of their son. Mrs. Overland wept for him, and the pain in her husband's face was impossible to miss. Thankfully they'd left his younger sister at home. Hiccup didn't think Rapunzel could take seeing the little girl right now, considering her immense fondness for her, and heaven knew the last thing they needed was another person crying over what happened.

It was good for her that the Overlands were there though, Hiccup thought. He knew she was like a daughter to them. In fact, Jack's parents treated all of them as their children. Hiccup supposed it had something to do with the fact that, out of the four of them, Jack's was the only family that lived in Burgess at the moment. Hiccup's father was travelling due to work and should be somewhere in Europe right now, if he remembered correctly. Merida's parents were in Scotland. Rapunzel's adoptive mother was…actually, Hiccup wasn't sure where she was. Rapunzel didn't talk about her very much. Theoretically, the woman might actually live close by, but he knew Rapunzel would never go to her if she could help it.

After they'd all become so close with Jack, the Overlands had sort of taken them in. But it was obvious how much they adored Rapunzel. Hiccup was glad they were there to offer each other some solace.

On his parents' insistence, Jack was deemed well enough for travel and transferred to the hospital in Burgess the next day. Hiccup supposed that was a good sign. It made him feel considerably better knowing he was home. So they'd packed up his car and made the drive back.

After dropping Merida and Rapunzel off at the dormitories on campus, he had returned to his apartment. It was dark and silent and empty. If it hadn't been for Toothless, he knew he would've spiraled into madness within a few days. The black German Shepherd had been Hiccup's constant companion for a long time, and he'd never been so grateful that the apartment complex was pet-friendly before now. But even with the dog's unconditional affection and silent support, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. The apartment still felt empty. So, so empty.

He'd lived with that emptiness for over a week now. Life without Jack was…a lot more depressing than he'd been anticipating. He missed his whining about the earliness in the morning and his complaining about homework in the evening. He missed the way he'd show up at night with takeout so they didn't have to suffer their own cooking. He missed staying up too late playing video games. He missed Jack.

But the thing that depressed him the most was knowing that when Jack came back—_if_ he came back—nothing would be the same. They wouldn't get to play video games together anymore, or watch movies, or sit pretending to pore over textbooks while secretly waiting for the opportune moment to shoot spitballs at one another. Jack probably wouldn't come jump on his bed just to annoy him anymore. There were so many things that they wouldn't be able to do anymore, and these were the things that occupied Hiccup's mind for a majority of the time.

Everyday he waited patiently for a call to tell him that Jack had finally woken up, but the days passed and it didn't come. He was beginning to get scared. His thoughts became darker and darker as time went on—what if he was in a coma and slept for months? What if he had no memory when he woke up? What if he _didn't_ wake up?

It was becoming increasingly difficult not to torture himself with what ifs.

But when you're alone with nothing but your thoughts…what ifs were pretty much all he had to think about. Merida came by frequently to try to help with his loneliness. It certainly helped. Some nights she'd bring him food or stay a while to work on homework, and he was undoubtedly grateful for the company. But it wasn't the same. And on the nights when she couldn't come by and Hiccup pulled Toothless onto his lap and turned up the TV to drown out the silence, the weight in his gut felt too heavy to bear.

It had been seven days since the accident, but to Hiccup it felt like a lifetime. If there was one thing he learned in that week, it was that he'd taken his roommate for granted. He had never realized how boring life was without him, how much _fun_ Jack was able to bring with him wherever he went.

It terrified Hiccup to think that he would never be that way again. Sure, he would still be _Jack_, but he would never be quite the same. How could he be, when such a big piece of him was missing?

Hiccup heaved a heavy sigh and continued to roll his pencil across the small expanse of his desk. At some point, his chin had sunken into his arms and he hadn't realized it until the students began to stir and he was jerked back into reality.

"And that's it for today," the professor announced. "Don't forget about the test next week."

Hiccup groaned internally as he began stuffing his things into his satchel. Another wasted class. He was doomed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so behind on schoolwork.

He tried to keep out of people's way as a steady stream of students rushed for the doors. That was his last class for the day, but he grimaced when he remembered he was supposed to work a shift at the auto shop that night. Maybe he would call Tuff and ask him to cover it. He really wasn't feeling up to working. Or dealing with people. All he really wanted to do was sleep.

But then he remembered the rent. And that, as of now, he was solely responsible for paying it since Jack was out of commission. The apartment was a bit of a dump and wasn't exactly expensive as far as apartments went, but on top of all the other expenses he had to cover, paying the rent on time would be quite a challenge. He needed to go to work tonight, no matter how much he dreaded the idea.

With leaden feet he walked to his car and proceeded to drive the short distance to the complex. It was a nice area for such shabby apartments. The street was lined with neat black lampposts and the shrubbery was trimmed nicely and everyone seemed good about picking up after their pets, so Hiccup considered it a good place to live. He and Jack hadn't gotten to know many of their neighbors, but the ones they'd bumped into occasionally seemed friendly enough.

The climb to the third story of the building felt like a long, daunting task these days, and Hiccup took his time getting up the stairs. The small, empty place that awaited him at the end wasn't a very inviting destination, either.

He was struggling to unlock the door (the deadbolt had an irritating tendency to get stuck) when he heard a sweet voice behind him say, "Hiccup! How are you today?"

Hiccup turned in time to see their next-door neighbor coming up the stairs with her arms full of grocery bags. He smiled and waved in greeting. "Hi, Tooth. I'm fine, thanks." Then he noticed a small movement by the girl's legs and bent down to greet the small face and large, mismatched eyes peeking out from behind. "Hey, Baby. How are you?"

The little girl smiled widely and waved.

Tooth smiled fondly and patted her little sister's head. "She's a little tired. We've been out shopping all day."

Hiccup nodded in understanding.

Toothiana was an older girl who Hiccup believed was currently in medical school. She lived in the apartment next to his with her sister, a small five-year-old that Jack had a rather large soft spot for and had inexplicably nicknamed "Baby." Sometimes they let her come over when Tooth had somewhere to be or needed some peace and quiet to study. Jack loved babysitting the little girl. Watching them play together was always amusing for Hiccup. It brought out a soft, tender side of Jack that you'd never know was there otherwise. Hiccup had been shocked when he first found out that he was so good with kids. Though, in retrospect, he supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised.

Tooth shifted a large paper bag against her hip and tossed her rainbow-colored hair. "So where's Jack? Baby's been asking about him, and I haven't seen him around lately."

Hiccup's gut turned and his fingers clenched around they key. "Uh…"

"Is he buried under schoolwork already? That doesn't sound like Jack. He's probably with Rapunzel, huh?"

"Um..." He sighed, feeling all the loneliness and misery and worry flood into his face. "No. No, he's not."

Alarm flickered across Tooth's birdlike features. "What's wrong? Is he all right?"

Hiccup quickly glanced at Baby, and then back at Tooth pointedly, hoping she got the message. Realization sparked in her violet eyes. She took the smaller of her bags and handed it to her little sister. "Would you put this inside for me, please? Then you can watch TV. I'll be in in a minute, okay?"

Baby took the bag carefully, looking up inquiringly at Tooth. "Where's Jack?"

Hiccup bit his lip. "Jack will be back soon. Don't worry." He did his best to smile and hoped that it was enough.

Baby didn't look entirely convinced, but she nodded anyway. "Okay," she said, and promptly took the bag inside her apartment and shut the door.

Hiccup sagged against the railing.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" Tooth asked anxiously, taking a step toward him.

"Jack managed to get himself hospitalized while we were at a ski lodge over break," he answered glumly.

Tooth gasped audibly. "Oh no! Is he all right?"

"Um." Hiccup reached up to rub his jaw, absently noticing that he needed to shave. "Not exactly."

"Wh…why not? What happened?" Tooth looked more concerned than she had a right to be. They were friends, sure, but Hiccup wouldn't exactly say they were close. Then again, he'd pegged Tooth to be a very sympathetic and caring person, much like Rapunzel. It made sense that she was so concerned for Jack's wellbeing, especially when her little sister loved him so much.

Hiccup sighed again, searching for words. "He hit his head, and…uh…they're saying he's gone blind. Permanently." He had to force himself to say it. Just hearing it out loud again made it that much more real, and that much more painful. It's not like he was trying to deny reality or anything…but ignoring it was a lot more favorable. He didn't like having to talk about it.

Tooth covered her mouth with her hands, face contorting in shock and distress. "Oh, Hiccup…I…I'm so sorry."

He gave a humorless laugh. "Why? I'm not the one who's hurt."

"Is he…I mean, how's Jack taking it? Is he okay?"

"He doesn't know yet. He's still unconscious."

"Still?"

Hiccup leaned his elbows on the rail and looked down into the stairwell, deciding to let his silence speak for him.

After a moment, he felt a delicate hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, okay?"

He smiled at her over his shoulder. "I will. Thanks, Tooth."

"And let me know when you get any news of Jack," she added, beginning to move toward her door.

"Okay."

She gave him a sad wave as she closed the door, compassion shining in her eyes. Hiccup's posture slumped and he stuck his key back in the lock, wiggling it halfheartedly.

When the deadbolt finally turned and he pushed the door open, he wanted to run from the darkness that he saw. Part of him wished it was dark only because Jack was napping on the couch, but the desolate silence that emanated from the small space they called the living room reminded him harshly of reality.

He reluctantly stepped over the threshold and went inside. The_ thump thump_ of Toothless's tail against the side of his crate was the only thing that greeted him, and he eagerly flipped on a light and opened the crate's door. The big dog exploded out of it, knocking Hiccup backwards and covering his face with saliva from his tongue. Hiccup laughed as he pushed him off and wiped his face on his sleeve.

"Hey, bud," he said. "It's good to see you too. I hope you're having a better day than I am."

Toothless wagged his tail in response.

"I'll take that as a yes."

He stood up with a groan and stretched. He supposed he should get some studying done before work, but the sagging couch seemed a lot more appealing at the moment. After a quick and rather one-sided internal debate, he tossed his bag and keys on the kitchen table and threw himself onto the worn cushions. It took maybe ten seconds for him to fall asleep.

Work was a complete bore, as usual. The night seemed slower than his usual shifts, which he really should've been thankful for, considering his low levels of energy and lack of motivation to be friendly. He was pretty sure his boss, a hulking man with a drooping mustache named Gobber, even picked up on it. Thankfully, though, he had enough grace not to say anything to Hiccup about it.

He had just enough energy when he got home to do a bit of homework and take Toothless for a walk. Then he collapsed gratefully into his bed and slept, extremely thankful that the next day was a Friday and he only had one class in the afternoon.

Instead of waking up the next morning to Toothless's tongue licking his face, he was roused by his ringtone. Grumbling to himself, he turned over in the bed and pulled his pillow over his head. But then it occurred to him that it might be Merida, and he didn't want to induce he anger by ignoring her call. He'd tried that before, and apparently "I was sleeping" wasn't a valid excuse.

So he pushed himself up and groped blindly for his phone. Once he had it in his grasp, he pressed a button and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Oh, Hiccup, were you asleep? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you."

At the sound of Mrs. Overland's voice on the other end, Hiccup was immediately awake and shot up in bed. "Oh, no, you didn't. It's fine," he said hurriedly. "Is…something wrong?"

His heart was pounding against his chest. The only reason she would call him that he could think of was if she had news of Jack.

Her voice sounded both overjoyed and dismayed at the same time. "I thought you'd want to know that Jack's awake."

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat. For a moment he said nothing and stared at the far wall. Jack was…awake? After waiting for so long to hear those words, they seemed to want to take their time to sink in.

"Hiccup? Are you still there?"

"Uh, yes," he answered. "Um…is Jack okay?"

There was a slight pause in which he felt his stomach drop. He was terrified of her answer.

"He's as okay as he can be, I suppose," the woman said. "He woke up for the first time two days ago, but he hasn't been very coherent and he's had a difficult time talking, so I didn't call you. But he's better today. He doesn't remember the accident, but that's normal. The doctors say he doesn't seem to have any further brain damage."

Hiccup closed his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Is he, um…you know…doing okay with…with everything?"

"I'm sure he would love it if you came by to ask him yourself."

He blinked, remembering what the last doctor had told them. "He's okay for visitors?"

"Well, maybe not today, but they say he'll probably be lucid enough tomorrow," Mrs. Overland informed. "I'll call you when he's awake if you'd like."

"That would be great. Thanks, Mrs. Overland."

He hung up and ran a hand over his face tiredly. _So, you finally decided to wake up, huh? Took you long enough. _He'd been waiting for that call for too long. Now that it had finally come, he didn't feel as relieved as he thought he would. Because now came the part he'd been dreading. The part where Jack would have to get used to a new life. And really, by default, they all would.

Hiccup exhaled heavily through his nose and raised his hand, but found himself hesitating again. _Open the door. Just open it. _

He'd been standing there for two full minutes already, trying to work up the courage to enter Jack's hospital room. He didn't know why he was so reluctant to go in. Jack's mom had called a while ago to tell him that Jack was awake and asking to see his friends (Hiccup was sure he was mostly asking for Rapunzel, though), so he'd driven over to the hospital immediately. And now he couldn't even work up the courage to open the door.

Honestly, he was scared to see Jack, to see the shape he was in. But the thing he was most scared of was that, for the first time, Jack wouldn't be able to see him back.

Finally, Hiccup forced his hand to grasp the doorknob and push the door open.

The first thing he saw was Jack's mother standing from a chair by the bed and smiling at him. Smiling, looking as cheerful and pleasant as always, as if nothing was wrong. Hiccup wished he could put on that kind of face, but he was sure his expression looked more like a grimace.

"Thank you for coming," the woman said, her voice painfully upbeat. She turned back to the bed. "Jack, Hiccup's here to see you."

"Hiccup?"

The small, weak voice drew Hiccup's eyes to the hospital bed, and he sucked in a breath. He'd expected him to look bad—but not like _this_.

Jack had always been pale, but now he was stark white. Thankfully not the sickeningly gray pallor he'd been in the ambulance, but the color was still gone from his face. Both of his eyes were ringed in dark circles, alarmingly stark in contrast with his paper white complexion. Bandages now covered his broken nose and the gashes on his face, though quite a few scratches were still plainly visible. A large, thick white bandage was wrapped around his head.

But the worst thing—the absolute worst thing—was the look in his eyes. As Hiccup moved closer to the bed he could see it better, and the sight of it was creating a pressure that was slowly crushing his chest.

Jack's usually warm brown eyes were glassy and dull. There was a vague, unfocused look in them that had never been there before. And everything that _had _been there before—wit, fun, mischief—was all gone. The lively spark that had defined Jack had dimmed along with the light in his eyes, and to Hiccup it felt like a stab to the chest.

Currently, Jack was lying against a stack of pillows, the upper half of the bed tilted upward so that he was almost sitting. His eyes stared blankly ahead into nothingness, but his head turned at the sound of Hiccup's approach.

"I'll give you two some time," Mrs. Overland said, and promptly left the room, the door shutting behind her.

For a while, Hiccup just stood at the foot of the bed awkwardly, trying to process the sight in front of him—his best friend's battered, emaciated form swallowed in the white sheets of a hospital bed, surrounded by machinery and IV stands that Jack didn't even know were there because he'd been left with broken eyes. Hiccup swallowed, trying not to let the scene unnerve him, but knew it was too late for that.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything. The mere fact that he had to say something at all just so Jack would be aware of his presence got to him more than it should have. It was wrong. It was so, so wrong. It shouldn't be this way.

Jack turned his head on the pillows again, his face scrunching in confusion. "Hiccup…?"

"Uh…hey, Jack," he finally managed to say, moving closer to the bedside. He sunk into the chair Jack's mother had vacated and looked down at his hands.

"Well, don't you sound happy t'see me," Jack responded, his voice incomprehensibly light and joking.

Hiccup stared. How could he talk like that? How could he be making jokes? "Jack—"

"I don't wanna hear it, okay?" he said, and suddenly the joking tone was gone. "I don't want you t'say 'I'm sorry' or 'everything's gonna be all right' because I've…I've gotten plenty of that from my parents already and I don't need it from you."

Hiccup frowned at the way his voice was so weak and raspy and slurred. He took a breath to reply, but Jack cut him off again.

"And I'd really be grateful if you spared me the pitiful look I know you're giving me right now too." A weak smile appeared on his split lips. "Makes me feel like some kind of invalid."

"But I'm not—"

"Yes you are." Jack's smile widened. "I know you, Hic. I've always told you that you need to lighten up."

Hiccup couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe the old Jack really was still there. "Well, don't worry. I'm smiling now."

"Good."

Hiccup huffed out a breathy laugh and shook his head. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Jack closed his eyes and frowned. "Well, I'm a blind idiot now so you have t'be nice to me."

Hiccup's smile vanished. He marveled at the way he could just _say_ it like that, like it didn't even bother him. Somehow, he just couldn't keep joking the way Jack could. That weight settled on his chest again.

"Hiccup? Hellooo?"

After a few seconds passed, he finally muttered, "You really have no idea how much you scared all of us, do you?"

Jack's expression changed. He opened his eyes and stared up toward the ceiling, suddenly serious and solemn. "Did I? I don't remember."

"You wouldn't. I thought for sure the rest of your brains had been turned to pulp."

"What happened? The last thing I remember is…is the night before."

Something about his tone made Hiccup realize that there was more to "the night before" than he was telling, but he didn't ask about it. Instead he told him, "You wiped out on one of the slopes. A slope that I specifically told you _not to attempt_."

"I know that," Jack said, ignoring his last sentence. "They told me that much. But what _happened?_ They said you were the only one there."

Hiccup shuddered at the memory. "You don't want to know, trust me."

"That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say I saw enough blood to last me a lifetime."

That seemed to make Jack begin to realize the gravity of what had transpired. His brow furrowed, but he said nothing more.

After a while, the silence got uncomfortable and Hiccup cleared his throat. "So, how are you feeling?"

Jack blinked heavily. "Really tired. And sleepy. And there's this pressure in my head, and my brain's all foggy, but I'm pretty sure I'm pumped full of pain meds right now. But other than that, I feel good as new. Thanks for asking."

"Are you…" He paused, not really sure how to phrase the question. "Are you doing okay with…everything?"

"You mean with being blind? I guess." He shrugged. "Gee, Hic, you're so sweet to worry about me. How's Rapunzel?"

It took Hiccup a second to process the question. And when he did, it worried him that Jack sounded so eager to get off the topic.

"Hiccup. _Rapunzel_. How is she?" When Jack asked again, he sounded urgent and worried.

"Uh…she's…not very good, Jack."

In truth, he hadn't seen her lately. All he knew was what Merida had told him. According to her, Rapunzel had been a wreck all week, barely eating enough to keep a bird alive and being unable to focus on her studies. She'd stopped crying, apparently, but now she was…Merida had used the word _numb_. She said it seemed like Rapunzel had just stopped caring. She didn't laugh, hardly ever smiled, and appeared very indifferent to everything going on around her.

"I'm worried, Hic," Merida had confessed to him over the phone the other day. "She's skipped three classes this week already. She never skips classes. And she sleeps way more than she used to. It's like she's…_dead_…on the inside."

"What do you mean?" This time, Jack sounded alarmed. And scared. "Why?"

"_Why_?" he said incredulously. "The person she loves most in the world busted his head open, lost his sight, and has been unconscious for a week. Why do you think?"

Jack closed his eyes, brows drawing together, and for the second time that day, didn't say anything.

"Merida says she's pretty much shut down," Hiccup continued. "Are you really surprised?"

A long silence stretched through the room, with only the beeping of the heart monitor to fill it. Jack's chest rose and fell with deep, controlled breaths.

When he finally said spoke again, his voice was low and drowsy and slurred. Hiccup knew they didn't have much more time to talk. "When's she comin' t'see me?"

Hiccup sighed. "I don't know."

"Tell her I wanna see her," he droned sleepily, his eyes still closed. "I mean…not _see_ her, but…y'know. Hear…hear her."

"Okay." Hiccup ignored the pang he felt in his chest.

"And Hic?"

"Yeah?"

"I…m'sorry."

Hiccup didn't have time to ask what he was sorry for before he fell asleep.

* * *

**So, I think the next chapter (which will probably be significantly shorter than the past four) will be the last part to the "Mountain Air" arc. Which means...I'll be taking prompts! I'll remind you again when I post the next part, but if you have ideas for one-shots, I'd love to hear them! Thanks again!**


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